Erdogan Hopes Syrian Conflict to Be Settled by Political Means in 2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope on Monday that the ongoing Syrian crisis would be settled in 2017 using political instruments, including peace talks in Astana.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Erdogan added that diplomatic efforts had already contributed to the thaw in relations between Ankara and Moscow.

"We will face a very intense period in 2017. Along with Russia and Iran we have prepared in Moscow a platform for the [settlement] process in Astana. The ongoing truce, despite its violations, opens a big window of opportunity and we hope that we will be able to settle the crisis in Syria by political means, we are making every effort to reach this goal," Erdogan said.

After Moscow-Ankara-Tehran negotiations on Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on December 29 that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had reached an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in the country and on readiness to start peace talks.

A nationwide ceasefire in Syria was brokered by Russia and Turkey and later approved by the United Nations. The ceasefire deal in Syria has been in effect since December 30. The truce is expected to be followed by peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana later this month.